Friday, July 11, 2008

Tagged!

Nik has tagged me in a meme which sounds like an interesting exercise in looking back so here goes!

1) What were you doing ten years' ago?

1998, I was already living in Israel, came in 1994, and working as a science and technology journalist. I had been living alone for a year by then in a cute flat with purple shutters with Zac, my cat, who is now 11 years old and still spritely. I appeared in my first play, as Beatrice in an amateur and quite experimental production of Much Ado About Nothing, which was a wonderful experience, I made a lot of great friends, and I realised that I was quite good at this acting lark. This led to a lot more acting over the five years that followed.

2) What 5 things are on your to-do list today?
Hmm, good question. The things I am thinking about right now are:
  1. Get some attention for my book which is coming out in September, set up some reviews and readings
  2. Trying to get hold of Sylvia at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Arts and Literature Department who, it is rumoured, might fund writers to go to literary conferences abroad
  3. Tidy up my study/workspace, which I did today
  4. Exercise a bit more to keep the waistline shrinking (lost 2.5 inches in the past few weeks)
  5. Decide about my writing shed - is 1.5 metres wide too narrow, would it be like working in a corridor?
4) What would you do with a billion dollars?
Buy a bigger writing shed! Kidding. Actually, I would set up scholarships for short story writers to be able to just take time to write. I would love to do that. And, inspired by Sarah's answer, (which involves Bryan Ferry), in the realms of pure fantasy I would like to spend a few months living in Paris, a few in New York, a few here and a few at my retreat home in the countryside, maybe by the lake in the Berkshires in Massachusetts where we were stunningly fortunate to stay for a week exactly a year ago.


5) List the places you have lived:
  1. London
  2. Runcorn
  3. Grantham
  4. Paris
  5. Manchester
  6. London
  7. Jerusalem
6) List the jobs you have held:
  1. A week's work experience (does this count?) at British Aerospace when I was 16
  2. In the labs of ICI chemicals (boo) on my year out in 1990
  3. Writer for the public relations department of the Weizmann Institute of Science, I lasted 5 months, longest office job I have ever had
  4. Two weeks as a patent attorney (very boring)
  5. Reiki master (never made money)
  6. Theatre lighting (one play, never again!)

7) List the people you'd like to know more about:

I'd like to know more about: Clare, Sue, Julia, Alan Beard, Kerry and KatW. Your turn, people!

5 comments:

Nik Perring said...

I enjoyed reading your answers to this, Tania. And I didn't know you'd lived near me in'near Manchester. And an actress no less. I think your life has been much more exciting than mine!

N

Kat W said...

Thank you for the tag. I was tagged for this last week and my answers are posted on my blog entry 'cute excuse'.

Grantham - for many years I lived in nearby Melton Mowbray, the town of my birth. We used to frequent a great Chinese restaurant in Grantham. It's a small world. Having said that, as you'll see in my meme I've never had chance to live outside the Uk and certainly nowhere as romantic as Paris!

Kat :-)

Tania Hershman said...

Thanks, Nik, it was an interesting exercise, looking back ten years. I was at uni in Manchester - more than ten years ago! And you've got 11 years to catch up in terms of excitement... you became published author long before me, don't forget that!

Kat...oops, sorry, I missed that, will go and read your answers. Ahh, Grantham - I lived there for 3 months when I was working for ICI chemicals, it was a darn sight nicer than Runcorn, where I spent the first three months of my work placement, although not quite as many murders!

Alan Beard said...

Hi Tania,
finally answered the questions on my sort-of blog. BTW read a story of yours in 'Riptide'- enjoyed it. Intriguing and weird. I'll have to read it again. 'Riptide' (of course I bought it to check out possible markets) looks very good - very much like the old 'Panurge' in content, text and feel.

Tania Hershman said...

Hi Alan,
sorry I didn't explain the tagging very well, thanks for doing it, I will go and read it now. Glad you enjoyed "North Cold", it is kind of wierd, one of my favourite stories. Riptide is definitely worth submitting too, lovely editors! Congrats on your book deal, looking forward to your 2nd collection!